658 A Family Together, Asura Rises! (1)
If Nangong Li could not give a strong enough reason, the Emperor would not easily pardon him. However, he did not want to expose Asura’s existence.
At least not now.
His plan was to use Asura to secretly eliminate Yan Jiuchao and the others, leaving only Yu Wan and her sickly mother. At that time, he would use Asura’s advantage to compete with them who had the holy artifact. Without anyone to rely on, they would definitely lose to him like duckweed.
Everyone was happy.
After that, perhaps the Emperor would suspect that he had killed Yan Jiuchao. However, firstly, the Emperor did not have any evidence. Secondly, he was already dead. Could the Emperor abandon him, his only heir, for a few dead people?
But it was different now.
Once the Emperor found out that he had Asura in his hands, he would definitely keep a close eye on him. If anything happened to Yan Jiuchao and the others, the Emperor would blame him. If the Emperor gave the order to destroy Asura, would he listen or not?
Nangong Li thought of the subsequent possibilities and instantly felt a headache coming on.
“Grand Marshal Xiao came today,” the Emperor suddenly said.
Nangong Li felt like he had been hammered on the head.
Xiao Zhenting had been here? How did he have the guts to come? When the two armies fought, he, a spy from an enemy country, infiltrated Nanzhao. Wasn’t he afraid that the Emperor would sentence him to death?
Wait, Grandpa’s expression and tone when he mentioned Xiao Zhenting…
Nangong Li mustered his courage and looked at the Emperor. The Emperor was indeed very angry earlier, but he had already calmed down while waiting for Nangong Li. Moreover, his daughter was in the wrong in the matter of Yan Jiuchao and Prince Yan. He could not even apologize in time, so how could he have the cheek to blame Xiao Zhenting, who was dedicated to Yan Jiuchao?
Although Nangong Li could not guess what Xiao Zhenting had said to his grandfather that actually dispelled his killing intent, he was certain that Xiao Zhenting had exposed his whereabouts.
Xiao Zhenting!
The person who had fought Asura on the streets that day was indeed him! In order to prevent him from sending Asura to assassinate him again, he did not hesitate to expose himself to the Emperor and even expose him.
It had to be said that this move seemed arrogant and stupid, but it damn well worked.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” The Emperor asked in a deep voice.
Nangong Li gritted his teeth and composed himself. He said piously, “Grandpa, to be honest, I returned to the Capital to assassinate Xiao Zhenting. I didn’t expect him to infiltrate the Capital either. When I first made the military pledge, I didn’t think it through, but I promise you that I will definitely be able to take his head!”
Initially, he had agreed to kill Xiao Zhenting because the two armies would definitely fight. However, Xiao Zhenting had already expressed his unwillingness to fight. Even a general was like this. As the Emperor, how could he really bear to let his soldiers and citizens bleed and sacrifice themselves?
The Great Zhou Emperor wanted to start a war, and Xiao Zhenting was the only general who dared to disobey him. If Xiao Zhenting was dead, and someone else came, it would not be so easy to stop the war.
It was no exaggeration to say that Nanzhao’s most advantageous strategy now was to let Xiao Zhenting live well.
However, the Emperor was not in a hurry to give Xiao Zhenting a protection order. He looked at Nangong Li deeply and asked, “Xiao Zhenting is the number one general of the Great Zhou. His martial arts are powerful and no one can compare to him. What confidence do you have to kill him?”
Nangong Li understood that his grandfather was testing him. Forget it, if he did not hand it over, today’s matter would not end well.
“I have Asura.”
“What did you say?” The Emperor was slightly stunned.
Nangong Li braced himself and said, “I… have three Asuras. They can easily kill Xiao Zhenting.”
Xiao Zhenting, so you exposed yourself to me because you wanted me to protect you! The Emperor narrowed his eyes and rubbed his fingertips on the cold memorial. “Asura belongs to the Ghost Clan? Why do you have Asura?”
And there were so many!
Nangong Li explained, “I went to the Ghost Clan and brought back an Asura.”
“You!”
Nangong Li hurriedly said, “Grandpa, don’t be angry. I didn’t let anyone discover it. They don’t know that I did it. Moreover, that Asura is already dead. Even if the Ghost Clan finds Nanzhao, they won’t know that I stole their things. What I have in my hand now is the Asura I refined myself. It has nothing to do with the Ghost Clan.”
Only then did the Emperor’s expression improve. The Eldest Princess’s matter had already let the Ghost Clan down. If they stole their Asura again, Nanzhao would really be unable to clear their name.
The Emperor thought of something and said, “I heard that… Asura will counterattack its master.”
